Spill in Pataz: Mindef confirms sending 40 rescuers and members of the army to rescue people

The Minister of Defense, José Luis Gavidia, reported that a delegation will head to the province of Pataz, in La Libertad, where the sliding of the Retama hill over a populated center. He also announced that all victims will be evacuated.

The minister said that around 40 rescuers are going to the affected area, in addition to a battalion of the Huamachuco Army. It is anticipated that they would be arriving around 3:00 p.m. to begin rescue work.

“At the moment we are going out with a group of rescuers, there are 20 policemen who are going to enter (...) and enter the area with two helicopters. I am going with 10 more rescuers to Trujillo and from there I can enter with another helicopter to the area. We are going to enter rescuers and doctors to start taking out the wounded,” he said in RPP Noticias.

“Practically, we are going to have three M17 helicopters in the area to start taking the wounded to Trujillo and entering rescuers and doctors, that is the first action we are going to take: rescuers and doctors enter and get injured. Later, I'm going to move to the area to start assessing the situation,” he added.

In addition, the Minister of Defense confirmed that the current report of buried houses ranges from 60 to 80.

“I have the report, more or less, of between 60 and 80 houses buried. We definitely don't have the exact number of how many people were inside each house. I am proceeding on the orders of the president, we are getting on the plane to go to Trujillo and we will immediately be entering the scene of the disaster,” said Gavidia.

GOVERNOR CONFIRMS SITUATION

The disaster was reported around 8:00 a.m. The governor of La Libertad, Manuel Llempén, reported that at that time he received a call from the center village of Retama, in the district of Parcoy, Pataz province. Llampén also pointed out that this was due to the fact that the hill does not have an adequate area for housing construction.

The regional authority explained that, according to a preliminary report from the Parcoy district, the Retama town center is located in a ravine and the hill slide covered approximately 60 to 80 houses.

“Fortunately, this happened in the morning because we could say that some of the people who live there have gone out to work, but as we have seen the images this is very tragic and I have already communicated with the President of the Republic, who has ordered the Minister of Defense to come to the area” he also told RPP Noticias.

Governor Llampén said he also received images indicating that the last houses were not completely covered. In addition, he said that houses and buildings are being drilled into the walls in the form of tunnels to allow entry and rescue people who would still be trapped inside.

“I saw in the video that about five people are already being rescued, but this is a strong job that needs to be done. I am currently with the regional command of emergencies and disasters and the Army General has already displaced 50 rescue specialists to the affected area,” he explained.

However, the governor said that, despite these efforts by the citizens themselves, they do not have a paved road from Huamachuco to the affected area in Pataz. In this way, despite being “the province that provides all the gold that the La Libertad region gives”, they are prevented from rapid transit from Trujillo to the area. This would take up to 16 hours by land.

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